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Gotham City (D4)
Gotham City (GOTH''-əm) is a American city best known as the home of Kord Industries'' History of Gotham City Origins The birth of Gotham City is one shrouded in both mystery and mysticism. Millennia ago, an evil warlock was buried alive beneath what would one day become the central island of Gotham. It is alleged that while the warlock laid in a state of torpor, his evil essence seeped into the soil, poisoning the ground with his dark, corruptive touch. By the warlock's own reasoning, he claims that he fathered the modern spirit of Gotham City and has even taken to calling himself Doctor Gotham. The territory surrounding Doctor Gotham's burial spot was also the home of an ancient Native American tribe known as the Miagani. The Miagani inhabited the Gotham islands several centuries before European explorers ever crossed the Atlantic. The Miagani tribe is no longer in existence, and there is much speculation as to their final fate. One posited theory suggests that a shaman named Blackfire came to them, proclaiming to be a holy messenger. Within short order however, Blackfire took control of the Miagani and proved to be a cruel and evil tyrant. The Miagani chieftain Chief Paleface demanded that Blackfire leave the tribe, but the shaman would not be silenced, and he struck down Paleface with his staff, killing him. The other Miagani revolted against Blackfire. They shot him with their arrows and tied him to a pole to die. Blackfire didn't die though, so the Miagani sealed him inside of a cave. They erected a totem in front of the tomb as a warning sign of the evil that resided within. Some sources cite that Shaman Blackfire emerged from the cave and used his power to cause a blight across the land. As such, the Miagani had little choice but to abandon their homes in search of fertile ground. Two days into their journey, a rival tribe came upon them and slaughtered all of the Miagani. Some legends however, say that it was actually Shaman Blackfire who murdered them. 17th Century In 1609, the Dutch East India Company selected English explorer Henry Hudson to chart an easterly passage to Asia. Along his journey, he surveyed the Northeastern coastal region of what would one day become the United States. Following Hudson's course, Dutch pioneers sailed for this New World and began populating the region once inhabited by the Miagani. The pioneers established themselves in two different colonies. One colony was set up along the shore where fishing was plentiful, and the other was developed further inland. The latter colony came upon the sealed cave with the Miagani totem erected before it. Unaware of its significance, they ignored the totem's warning and loosed Shaman Blackfire from the cave. The colonists were never seen again. Two days later, men from the coastal community traveled to visit their inland brothers. When they arrived in the village, they found the town deserted. Pools of blood dotted the streets, but there were no bodies. A trapper claimed to have seen the image of a naked Indian walking from the woods to the settlement. Today’s Gotham City was once an outpost called Fort Adolphus built by Norse explorer Captain Jon Logerquist in 1635 and named after Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. The Fort became the favored port of entry into the frontier beyond the east coast''. In 1674, the Swedes ceded the colony to England. Shortly after Fort Adolphus was renamed Gotham Town. 19th Century During the latter half of the 18th century and the early half of the 19th century, Gotham was a major port city known as Gotham Town. Beginning as early as 1799, Nigel Kord began construction on a family estate that would eventually become known as Kord Estate. On January 1st, 1800, the frontiersman known as Tomahawk became embroiled in a fight with a British spy named Lord Gerald Shilling. Shilling had disguised himself as Tomahawk's close ally Stovepipe in order to get in close enough to procure a piece of mystical amber that Tomahawk had acquired from occultist Jason Blood years earlier. The two fought one another inside of an immense, cavern not far from the Kord estate. During the fight, the piece of amber fell into a stream of molten fluid. Shilling reached to retrieve it, and the amber fused itself to his hand, mummifying his entire arm. Tomahawk severed the arm and returned with it to Gotham Town. The arm and amber later became known as the Claw of Aelkhünd. In 1840, Gotham underwent a major urban planning initiated by Judge Moses Garrett and architect Cyrus Pinkney that laid the foundation of Gotham City. Under Garrett's commission, Pinkney's design was meant to invoke a "bulwark against the godlessness of the wilds wherein we may nurture the gifts of Christian civilization and be protected from the savagery which lurks in untamed nature." Pinkney saw his designs as an organic whole, almost a living being that would itself fight against evil. Gargoyles to frighten people onto the path of righteousness; rounded edges to confuse malevolent beings; thick walls to lock in virtue. It also had many elevated walkways, with some buildings connected to each other in such a way as they could not stand alone. Although vehemently criticized by Garrett's fellow Gothamites, the edifice pleased the judge and, in fact was highly successful in that it attracted others to locate their ventures nearby - which in fact became the focal point for a thriving commercial center in Gotham's financial district. Together Garrett and Pinkney raised no fewer than a dozen other similar buildings. Pinkney's "Gotham Style" structure, for a time, was widely imitated, both in Gotham and elsewhere despite universal vilification in the architectural world. In 1895, the legend of Restless Gold was born when Gothamite Cyrus Gold , through varying accounts, came to his death in Slaughter Swamp that led to his transformation into the undead being who would emerge to the public five years later. By the end of the century, Gotham City became a bustling hub of industry. However, it also became a haven for crime, known more for its poverty, the squalidness of its slums and the utter corruption of its government than for commercial and cultural achievements. 20th Century By the 1930s, crime and corruption had reached a significant height in Gotham in which it became immortally characterized as a dark foreboding metropolis. At the same time, however, Gotham became the home of two of the earliest super-heroes: the Golden Age Blue Beetle and Black Canary. Eventually, the Sentinels of Justice would even make thier headquarters in Gotham for a short while. However, no matter what good these forces managed to do, the city remained in the control of organized crime. During the 1950s, Gotham evolved with the changing times, particularly in light of the paranoia perpetuated by the Cold War. Various bomb shelters were erected all throughout the city. By the 1960s, Gotham City planners began an ambitious project called the Underground Highway. Beginning at Fourth Avenue, they began building an actual subterranean thoroughfare designed to link with the subway system. They only managed to complete two-hundred yards worth of tunnel before budget cuts forced them to abandon the project. In later years, the unfinished highway became a haven for the homeless and even a few criminals. Crime in Gotham would continue to proliferate in the later half of the century. No Man's Land Gotham City had suffered the results of a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in an event commonly referred to as the "Cataclysm". With hopes for rehabilitating the broken city, the United States government declared it a No Man's Land, which effectively quarantined the entire island city. Eventually, thanks in no small part to the financial and political machinations of J.B. Collingsworth — dipping his hands, as ever, in both legitimate and illegal means to achieve his goals — Gotham City was released and rebuilt, and rejoined the United States. War Games Gotham later fell into a massive gang war between many of the city's major criminal groups following a botched contingency plan created by Thunderbolt that was implemented by Stephanie Brown (without his permission). The end results allowed the crime lord Black Mask to single-handedly rule over the city's organized crime until his death at the hands of Catwoman and a temporary police arrest warrant on vigilantes until being revoked by Police Commissioner James Gordon. Organizations Gotham City is a major economic center within the United States. Its important industries include manufacturing; shipping; finance; fine arts, represented by its numerous museums, galleries, and jewelers; and the production of giant novelty props. In addition to its commercial seaport, it also supports a naval shipyard. Major businesses based in Gotham City include its most noteworthy corporation: Wayne Enterprises, which specializes in various industrial aspects and advanced technological research and development. Its charitable division, Kord Industries, is a major supporter to the city's major charity, arts and research endeavors. Another business with a facility in Gotham is Ace Chemicals. Noteworthy newspapers in Gotham City include the Gotham Gazette and the Gotham Globe. The editor-in-chief of Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet, Perry White, had once worked for the Gazette early in his career. Municipal Organizations Gotham City Police Department * James Gordon Businesses Industrial Ace Chemical Processing Plant The factory where a costumed criminal named the Red Hood fell into a vat of chemicals and became the Joker Kord Enterprises * Theodore Kord (Blue Beetle) Research S.T.A.R. Labs Media Daily Tattle Gotham Broadcasting Center (GBC) Gotham Gazette * Vic Sage (The Question) Sports Teams Baseball * Gotham Knights * Gotham Griffins Basketball * Gotham Guardsmen Football * Gotham Wildcats, * Gotham Knights, * Gotham Rogues Hockey * The Gotham Blades Super Teams Birds of Prey Section 8 Sentinels of Justice Gotham Underground TBD Geography Gotham is located in New Jersey, across the Delaware Bay from Metropolis, which would place it on the southern coast of New Jersey. Like Gotham, Metropolis' location has also varied over the years. The distance between Gotham and Metropolis has varied greatly over the years, with depictions of the two ranging from being hundreds of miles apart to Gotham and Metropolis being shown as twin cities on opposite sides of Delaware Bay, with Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. Neighborhoods 'Burnley' An underdeveloped part of Gotham laden with poverty, crime, prostitution, and the circulation of illegal drugs 'Chelsea and Coventry' This borough is home to Gotham University and is the media center of the city. The Coventry neighborhoods are home to the headquarters of the Gotham Broadcasting Company radio and television network and the adjacent Gazette Tower. 'Chinatown' Gotham's primary Asian district. 'Fashion District' Built around the old textile factories, this neighborhood is home to high couture designers, kock off hacks and the factory workers that produce their clothing. 'Financial District' Home to the Gotham City Stock exchange, as well as, Numerous Investment firms and banks. Gotham County West of the City proper, The Greater Gotham County area is home to The Goodwin International Airport, and many of the homes of Gotham Cities elite. To the south, Gotham County is made up of scrub and marshland, including Slaughter Swamp, the swamp that gave birth to Restless. 'Midtown' The Core of the city, it is home to the international headquarters of Kord Enterprises as well as the headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department. Midtown contains the oldest parts of the city home to Paris Island the Gotham Cathedral and the clock tower. 'Robinson Park' The city’s main park. 'Tricorner' This large triangular island is riddled with Piers and is home to the Tricorner Shipyards. the interior of the island is a bluecollar residential area. 'Upper East Side' the International District, home to foreign embassies from all over the world also the Knightsdome Sporting Complex. 'Upper West Side' Home to Gotham’s City Hall and most of the other Municipal department offices. Much of the real estate is being converted over into high end residential areas. 'Landmarks' 'Amusement Mile' An amusement park in Gotham, lined with ferriswheels, rollercoasters, and other attractions typical of a theme park. 'Arkham Asylum' Arkham Asylum is the primary but involuntary residence of many of the city's rouges. Its history in the city reaches back to the early part of the 20th century, and that its manager is always a member of the Arkham family. Its current manager is Jeremiah Arkham, the nephew of founder Amadeus Arkham. 'Blackgate Penitentiary' The city’s main prison, located on Blackgate Isle. 'Sentinels of Justice Headquarters' 'Kord Tower''' Gotham Residents * Daniel Garrett * Cyrus Gold (Restless) References Batman Wiki Gotham City Article- http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Gotham_City DC Comics Database Gotham City Wiki Article- http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Gotham_City Wikipedia Gotham City Article- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_City ''DC Adventures Universe, ''Copyright 2013, Green Ronin Publishing; Authors Darren Bulmer, Seth Johnson, Steve Kenson, Jon Leitheusser, John Polojac, Aaron Sullivan Category:Gotham City Category:D4